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Article

26 Sep 2014

Author:
Swiss Coalition for Corporate Justice (SCCJ)

Swiss Foreign Affairs Committee calls for mandatory human rights due diligence for companies

The Foreign Affairs Committee of Switzerland’s Lower Chamber has called for human rights and environmental due diligence to be a requirement for companies. The Committee has adopted a motion in response to the government’s comparative law study. The ‘Swiss Coalition for Corporate Justice’ (‘SCCJ’) welcomes this far-sighted move. The government’s report on human rights due diligence carried out by companies was published in May this year...Commissioned by the Foreign Affairs Committee of Switzerland’s Lower Chamber (“the Committee”), the report sets out the possibilities for anchoring due diligence duties for companies in law. The Committee has now taken the next logical step, adopting a committee motion calling for draft legislation based on the findings of the report, to be developed...The introduction of such a due diligence requirement would go a significant way to preventing human rights violations and environmental crimes before any damage occurs...Due diligence is also at the heart of the UN Human Rights Council’s 2011 unanimously - adopted Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Should Parliament approve the motion, Switzerland would be playing a leading role in the implementation of these guiding principles...The SCCJcalls on the federal parliament to support the Committee’s motion...

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